Advocacy & Safety - Another friendly reminder to always wear you rhelmet

Today my riding partner was involved in an accident. She pulled out from a bike lane to make a left turn and got broadsided by a car going about 30mph. Thanks to her helmet the only thing she walked away with was a nice hospital bill and some serious bruising on her thigh. Her helmet took a pretty serious blow because she slammed it into the hood of the car but she never lost conciousness and all x-rays were negative. She's at home resting now and should be completely recovered in a week (other than the bruising which will probalby take over a month to disappear completely.

So everyone WEAR YOUR HELMET :)

Wish her our best!

Whoa, what happened to the bike?

Bike helmets 1. Bike lanes 0

Thank god she is ok. Did she not notice a car coming up at 30mph?

Glad to hear she's all right... but this has little to do with bike lane or helmet. Did she look before changing lane? Did she signal her intention?

So everyone WEAR YOUR HELMET :)


No. Everyone, SHOULDER CHECK BEFORE CHANGING LANES.

No. Everyone, SHOULDER CHECK BEFORE CHANGING LANES.

she might of, but some drivers are nuts, especially in Melbourne. And they dont have a clue about bike rules and signaling ect. Also the rider may not of known the drivers intentions. Well know we know that helmets work :d

She did shoulder check before moving over. The problem was that her turn comes right after a 4 way stop with a light. When she checked there was no traffic behind her so she looked ahead to gauge the on-coming traffic and by the time she started to move over a car had made a right turn onto her street she was unaware of and then the accident happened.

I honestly have no idea what shape the bike is in. I looked over it when they did the police report and saw only cosmetic damange and a fubar brake level/shift mechanism but we're going to take it to a local shop and have them do a more thorough check to see if the derailer hanger is bent, there are any hairline cracks in the frame we didn't see etc... There might have been 1 small crack in the top tube but i'm crossing my fingers that it was just a scratch.

It seems to me that a mirror would have helped in this situation.

Plus a second check behind.

Plus a second check behind.

Indeed. This would seem to be more a case of poor shoulder checking technique (and thenks for the clarification, moistfly). I'm not trying to belittle moistfly's friend here: hey, we all make mistakes, and I hope she recovers ok, isn't put off cycling, and, most importantly, learns how to avoid this situation in the future. This is merely a good example to demonstrate the importance of good shoulder checking practices.

In this case, there was a period of time between looking behind and actually making the lane change. Even if it was only a second or two, a lot can happen in that time. This is why it's important to know what's coming behind you at the exact time you wish to make the lane change. As randya said, a mirror is a valuable asset here, but not indispensible. The ability to shoulder check, signal (if necessary) and turn all at the same time is a very useful one to learn.

True, the helmet helped mitigate the effects of the mistake, but I always find it's far more beneficial to avoid coming off the bike at all, and learning the skills necessary to avoid crashing is a far more important safety message than simply 'wear your helmet'.

BTW, a mirror doesn't replace the need to shoulder check, but it is a handy supplement. I use mine as a preliminary check. When I actually want to change lanes, I always shoulder check. This does two things: 1, it gives me a much clearer view behind than a mirror ever will, and 2, it gives any motorists behind a clear indication of my intentions. If I feel that I need to be even more definite, I'll signal (and follow through with a 'thankyou' wave when they let me in). I do the same thing driving a car: mirrors always leave blind spots, so before changing lanes I shoulder check as well.

Mirror check plus hand signal is all that should be necessary. There are no blind spots when using a helmet mirror if you know how to use it correctly.

Mirror check plus hand signal is all that should be necessary. There are no blind spots when using a helmet mirror if you know how to use it correctly.

Maybe no blind spots, but it's a lot harder to judge distances with one eye. I don't think think it's a good idea to let good shoulder checking skills fall into disuse merely because you have a mirror.

To my mind, use of the bike lane is the root cause of the problem, shoulder check or not.

If a bike is involved in any accident, i'd replace the whole bike - the insurance should cover it anyways. Don't want to take any chances.

so far i dont wear a helmet. my riding is not on busy roads. the only things id have to worry about is whatever else you could do not involving getting hit by a car. i rode alot when i was younger....road bike........no helmet. ive converted to mostly trail riding on a mountain bike. i had a small spill last time i was testing a new trail (i tried to hop up on a walkbridge and miscalculated the distance between a block of wood and the actual bridge.....hence wheel snuggly in there and i fall over sideways ..no bumps though (stupid walk bridge ) . so im thinking about gettin a helmet now as most of my riding is alone and i figure i can always use it as a fist sheild if a dog comes at me.

have many people had bad spills trail riding?? ive never heard of any. most accidents i hear about involve cars etc...

ill have to find a helmet harder than my head i guess.........

Helmets have saved my head from denting and maybe more serious injury on several occasions on a trail -- from low-hanging branches or trees across a cutting that I didn't quit duck low enough to pass under.